Anti-lake lights push goes dark

A PETITION on the Victorian Parliament’s website calling for changes to the Lake Wendouree lighting project experienced issues over the Christmas and New Year period.

Western Victoria upper house MP Bev McArthur said through a statement the glitch could have caused, “hundreds, and potentially thousands, of signatures being lost from the Parliament’s online petition system.”

That includes Petition 414, titled Halt light pole placements around Lake Wendouree.

According to Ms McArthur the website issues included a loss of existing signatures and limited the ability of new names being added to the list.

“Anyone involved with petitions, or any cause, understands how hard it is to have success,” she said. “It doesn’t just happen, people work really hard and unselfishly for what they believe in.

“[T]he inability to sign up, and the loss of signatures, is heartbreaking for whose (sic) fighting against this visually ugly and poorly considered idea.”

As of last Sunday the petition had just over 320 signatories.

Ms McArthur urged people who may have previously signed up to the campaign to check and see if their name had been recorded.

The Lake Wendouree lighting plan includes 225 5.5-metre high lamp posts along Steve Moneghetti Track, set 25 metres apart and designed to brighten the path at dawn and dusk.

Those against the project in its current form have coalesced under the banner of Get the Lake Lighting Right.

They oppose different elements of the plan including environment, safety and aesthetic impacts.